Unknown

28 November, 2009

<b>Team Results</b>

Clonliffe won the ladies race for the second week in a row from Crusaders in second.

In the mens race Setanta had another good win, over Rathfarnham in second and GEN in third.
They may be under pressure to retain next week though due to adventure racing in Scotland and the probable return of Barry Minnock for Rathfarnham

<b> Women Team Placings</b>

1. Clonliffe 112 (Aisling Coppinger 22, Bronagh Ni Bhriain 38, Fionnuala Doherty 52)
2. Crusaders 232 (Aoife Joyce 46, Emma Sokell 82, Bronagh Gavigan 104)

<b>Mens Team Placings </b>

1. Setanta 15 (Eoin Keith 2, John McEnri 5, Paul Mahon 8
2. Rathfarnham WSAF 18 (Ronan Guirey 1, Turlough Conway 3, Mike Long 14)
3. GEN 59 (Paul Nolan 4, Gavan Doherty 20, Patrick Casey 35)
<br><br>

The signs were ominous from the race description: ?At the Trig point on the top of Seahan turn right for Corrig which hopefully will be visible about 1.0km away? Mmm 1 .0km visibility on Corrig now that?s a nice thought, past experience has been of gales and horizontal rain, true to form this year didn?t disappoint! Half expected to see Heathcliff and Kathy up there!!



158 brave souls made it to the start line and until the whistle it seemed that most of us were taking shelter in the registration marquee! Many thanks to all the volunteers who turned out to allow the rest of us to enjoy the real hill running experience that is Corrig. Special thanks must go to Diarmuid O ?Colmain who not only marked the route but helped collect the markers and stayed out on the course to make sure we all found our way home.



As for the race itself it was a lovely route with a little bit of something for everybody: good quality forestry road for the road runners, boggy open hill for the purists and a mucky steep descent for the suicidal to take at speed. For my part I quickly regretted not having more grippy shoes, or triple tying my laces ? came close to losing my right shoe on the return from Corrig to Seahan, so if you are reading this in preparation for Corrig ?08 you have been warned.. The start was a fast gradual climb on the forestry road leading to the narrow trail then back onto the forestry road for a short but welcome fast downhill section. Down through the trees through to a deeply rutted track before climbing over the wire fence for Seahan. It was while negotiating the fence that one particularly eager runner managed to stand on my hand, perhaps to get better grip! The climb to Seahan managed to destroy what pace I had left but the section to Corrig and back was perversely enjoyable, trying to find a route that didn?t involve drowning in the standing water or disappearing into a bog hole. The descent was equally challenging, trying to maintain momentum while staying vertical. I erred on the side of caution unlike Bronagh Ni Bhriain who raced by in a blur. Through the trees and back onto forestry trail for longer than I remembered from before. No time to enjoy the sight of the finish line as Robert Healy forced me into a sprint finish, sorry Robert!



Ronan Guirey took a well earned win and has improved his average % of winning from 102% last year to 100.8%! Eoin Keith took second a mere 12 seconds back, closely followed by the maestro of the laptop Turlough Conway. I was able to keep track of the girls position by taking note how early in the race they passed me: took Aisling Coppinger less than four minutes to go by me for the win while Bronagh Ni Bhriain used her pace on the descent to take second from Karen Doyle. Roisin McDonnell took F40 and fourth female with Marcella Dunne F50 and Caitlin Bent has the F60 category all to her self. Jimmy Synnott took M40 and a top 10 overall. Gary Moralee took M50 coming in just after Aisling while Roger Moulding took M60 and Charlie O?Connell took the honours in M70 category. Not forgetting of course young James Alexander who took his customary win in the M14 category, he will be causing a few problems for the rest of us when he moves up to full senior!



Quote of the day must go to Liam O?Rian: ?Leave the event at its current date in the calendar, but include the results in the Winter League?!